The road was lively with parties of children who, like themselves, were going to the palm groves; for it was the season when the Bedouin farmers cut down the great bunches of dates, and every one, especially the children, made a regular picnic of it. All the children of the city, apparently, were hurrying along, some on horseback and many more on foot, all bent on having a good time. Just behind our young people came some children riding on donkeys, trying their best to make their little donkeys keep up with the desert ponies of the boys. Hamid looked back at them and sang out: "The riding of a horse is an honour to the rider And joyful is his face; But the mule is a dishonour And the donkey a disgrace." Then Rashid began to laugh. This made the little donkey boys very angry. Off they jumped from their donkeys, and were picking up stones to throw at Rashid and his friends, while Ali threatened them with his stick. "No wonder father sent me with you to look after you," said Ali, shaking his finger at Hamid and Rashid as they rode on laughing, "if you are bound to get into mischief as early in the day as this." "But all the same no Bedouin boy would ride a donkey or a mule for anything," said Hamid. "That is quite true among you desert people," said Ali; "but these town and farmer folk don't care on what they ride so long as they do not have to walk." Now they had come to a large grove of palm-trees, and near one of the trees was a man standing with a rope in his hand. "Let us stop here," said Ali, calling out to Rashid; "there is a man going to climb up to the top of a tree now." The children jumped quickly off their horses and joined the group of people under the trees watching the man. He had tied one end of the rope around his waist and had passed it around the slim trunk of the tree, attaching the other end also to his waist. With this rope holding him well up against the tree-trunk, he began to climb by holding on to the rough bark wherever he could get a hold for as much as one of his toes, at the same time bracing himself against the strong rope which held him. "I should not like to do that," said Rashid. "I wonder that he does not get giddy and fall," said Fatimah. But the man went up easily, though he had a long way to climb. Like most date-palms, the tree was very tall, and the leaves and fruit all grew together on the very tip-top of the great stem or trunk. It was, as Hamid said, "just like the bunch of feathers on the end of his spear." When the man finally did reach the bunch of dates, it was quite a job to cut through the big stem, which was nearly as large around as his arm. "Isn't that a big bunch?" said Hamid, as the man lowered the great golden-coloured dates to the ground. "Yes," said Rashid, "but look, there must be some larger bunches still, for some are tied up to keep them from breaking off their stems."